The present invention relates to a lightweight adjustable strap retained shoulder protection device particularly suited to offer protection from gun or rifle recoil.
As is well known, continuous and repeated use of heavy shotguns and rifles can eventually become distressful, fatiguing and often painful for a marksman or hunter due to the unavoidable impact loads or forces directed to the shoulder area by reason of repeated gun recoil. For this reason, it is often desirable and necessary to provide the shoulder with some sort of protective padding or covering for at least partially absorbing such loads to enable the gun user to shoot with more comfort and with less fatigue.
Various outer garments and shooting or hunting vests have been devised to offer the wearer a means of protection against such recoil loads. However, while such prior articles may offer the wearer adequate recoil protection, they are often fairly heavy, cumbersome and clumsy. The weight and size of such garments make them somewhat ill-suited for use in warm or humid weather, and contribute to the wearer's fatigue. Additionally, such garments often lack versatility in that they may provide insufficient protection when worn during use of heavier gauged guns, or provide more protection than necessary when utilized with lighter gauged weapons. Moreover, as they often effectively comprise an outer garment or piece of clothing, a particular garment can be worn comfortably and effectively only by users of the same general shape and build. For these reasons, these prior articles are somewhat limited in their utility.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a shoulder protection device which provides the user with adequate protection against gun recoil, yet which eliminates the bulk, weight and warmth associated with traditional shoulder protection devices. It is moreover desirable to provide such a device which is especially designed for ease of movement, as well as shooting in warm or humid weather. It is additionally desirable to provide such a device which may be worn by user's of different shapes and sizes. Finally, it is desirable to provide a shoulder protection device of the above type which may be adapted to offer varying amounts of shoulder protection in accordance with the desires of different users and the recoil capabilities of different weapons.
The present invention is intended to satisfy all of the above desirable features through the provision of a new and improved shooter's shoulder protection device comprising a relatively thin flexible protective pad and a plurality of lightweight flexible straps which cooperate with the pad to create a lightweight shoulder harness for locating and retaining the pad generally in the user's shoulder area and thereby function in effectively absorbing firearm recoil directed thereto. The protective pad is comprised of an outer envelope having an access opening through which varying amounts of load absorbent material may be removably inserted into the envelope. The strap assembly is adjustable to allow the device to be worn by different users. The device is designed for ease of movement and is particularly suited for warm weather shooting since it eliminates the disadvantages associated with traditional protective shooter's garments.